WAR AGAINST COLLECTORS OF ANCIENT COINS

THERE IS A GLOBAL WAR against ancient coin collectors. Like so many wars in history, it is largely based on lies.

Rampant looting of archaeological sites around the world has created tragic gaps in our knowledge of human history. But the role of coins in this tragedy is routinely exaggerated to advance the political agendas of those who seek to define all ancient coins outside state control as “stolen property” and to criminalize the private ownership of antiquities.

Collectible antiquities include statues and figurines, weapons and armor, metal, glass and ceramic vessels, panels of sculptured stone, mosaics, painted frescoes, jewelry and many other kinds of artifacts[2]. Ancient coins represent a small and by no means the most valuable fraction of the global antiquities market.

Coins differ from most antiquities in two important respects: they were mass-produced, and they were meant to circulate. Because coins were mass-produced, thousands or even millions of very similar examples exist[3]. Between 330 and 323 BCE, Alexander the Great captured 180,000 talents of silver from the Persian Empire. That would make 270 million tetradrachms (a standard trade coin of about 17 grams.) Most were eventually melted down and recycled. Many others were lost, and millions remain buried, but today many reside in public and private collections both great and small. And since coins were a medium of exchange, they are often found far from their points of origin, sometimes thousands of miles away.

In July 2016 the German Parliament passed the new Cultural Property Protection Act (Kulturgutschutzgesetz), requiring that any antiquity offered for sale be accompanied by a valid export license from the country of origin. Germany has historically been a major player in the ancient coin trade, with many old and internationally respected auction houses. A last minute lobbying campaign by collectors secured an exemption for coins.

In September 2016 a new threat emerged when a bill was introduced into the U.S. Senate (S.3449) to amend the federal Stolen Property Act (originally meant to criminalize interstate car theft). Based on the widely discredited claim that ISIS is funded by looted antiquities, this “Terrorism Art and Antiquity Revenue Prevention Act of 2016” would empower Federal agencies to seize and repatriate artifacts valued at as little as $50, on the assumption that they were illegally removed from Syria or Iraq.

To read the complete article, see:
The Global War Against Collectors of Ancient Coins (www.coinweek.com/ancient-coins/global-war-collectors-ancient-coins/)

In other content relating to ancient coins, on October 26, 2016 CoinWeek published this video profile of the Carthaginian 1 1/2 Gold and Silver Shekel Coin -Editor

To read the complete article, see:
CoinWeek Video Coin Profile: The Carthaginian 1 1/2 Gold and Silver Shekel Coin – 4K Video (www.coinweek.com/ancient-coins/coinweek-video-coin-profile-carthaginian-1-12-gold-silver-shekel-coin-4k-video/)

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